A garage is often where the most valuable and most portable things live — tools, bikes, a car — yet it is frequently the least secure part of a property, still running the basic lock it left the factory with. The good news is that garage security is almost always a lock upgrade rather than a new door, and if your garage is integral (connected to the house) then securing it properly protects the house as well.
Every type of garage door locks differently
We work on all the common garage door types, and the right fix depends on which you have:
- Up-and-over doors — a central T-handle and a single euro cylinder. Simple, but the cheap factory cylinder snaps easily and the door can be levered up at the bottom.
- Roller and shutter doors — secured at the base with slide locks or bullet locks; electric versions use isolator locks so the motor can’t be operated.
- Sectional doors — usually a multipoint mechanism with a euro cylinder, and strong on anti-lift when fitted well.
- Side-hinged and personnel doors — these behave like an ordinary door and take a euro cylinder or a mortice lock.
The weak points we fix
The faults and vulnerabilities we are called to most are seized or worn T-handles and barrels, cheap euro cylinders that can be snapped, drilled or picked, up-and-over doors that can be levered up with a jack or crowbar through the gap at the bottom, roller doors that can be pushed up, and worn keeps that no longer hold the door firmly. The overwhelming majority are a part swap and an adjustment, not a new door.
Upgrades that actually make a difference
- Replace the up-and-over euro cylinder with an anti-snap, TS007 3-star cylinder cut to the exact length, so it sits flush and can’t be gripped and snapped.
- Fit a Sold Secure garage defender — a ground-anchored bar with a concealed padlock that physically stops an up-and-over door being levered open, and acts as a visible deterrent.
- Add anti-lift kits, stronger keeps and internal deadbolts for extra security when you are away.
- Fit bullet locks or isolators on electric roller shutters so the door can’t simply be operated.
Don’t forget the side door
The side or rear personnel door into a garage is the one people forget, and it is often the easiest way in. A uPVC, steel or composite side door wants a TS007 3-star anti-snap euro cylinder; a timber one wants a BS3621 mortice lock. We will sort it at the same visit so the whole garage is secure, not just the main door.
Integral garages
If your garage connects to the house through an internal door, the garage is effectively a route into your home, so it deserves proper attention. We treat that connecting door as a genuine external door and make sure both it and the garage door itself are up to standard.